The events on the United transfer front over the last 24 hours must have left many a Red scratching their collective heads in wonderment, because United rarely do things quickly and silently as was the case with Anderson and Nani. The deals aren't signed and sealed just yet, so I guess we have to be a bit cautious that something might go wrong, but the very fact that United felt confident enough to make the announcement last night on the clubs official website suggests both players will become United players in short order.
It's fairly obvious that Anderson has been earmarked to be Paul Scholes long term replacement, and according to reports from various pundits who know all about the player the Red's have captured the very heart-beat of Brazil's future engine room.
Then we have Nani, who it appears could have been brought in to replace Giggs, was it purely a coincidence that Giggsy announced his international retirment this week? Did the Welsh wizard think 'hang on, I will have to really pull my tripe out to get a game now?'...
Today the club also announced that the Owen Hargreaves deal is as good as done too. Personally I think this deal is the most important of the three, because I believe the England midfielder will be key to the Red's future and there wont be any issues about the weather etc, whereas there's always that danger that Anderson may struggle to adjust to Manchester aka the rainy city.
It really is a mouth watering prospect having so much talent coming to the club.
For now though us Red's will have to be contented with what has been a great piece of business, because it is so unusual for United to get our deals done early in the summer transfer window. All too often we've been left scrambling for any piece of information on possible new signings, and sometimes as with Ronaldinho we were left high and dry.
The intruiging thing now is what happens next? Because the Red's have already committed to over £30m of new talent and we still need to sign at least one new striker. United will I believe almost certainly offload a fair few players, I'm thinking of Richardson, Heinze, Saha and possibly Smith. IF that happens the reds might be lucky to recoup around £17m - which might then be used to sign another striker.
One player who I personally do not want to see being sold is Johnny Evans, I understand that Sunderland are desperate to retain him and I fear a bid could be in the offing...
Thursday, May 31, 2007
United confirm Hagreaves deal....
The news just keeps on getting better and better if you support Manchester United because the Red's have confirmed that Owen Hargreaves will complete his transfer to United at the end of June when he returns from his holiday in Canada. The fee is expected to be around £17m, this latest move takes the Red's summer spending to over £30m. Late on Monday United confirmed they'd agreed to sign Brazilian, Anderson (19), from FC Porto and Portuguese star Nani (20), from Sporting Lisbon. Red's fans will be wondering who is next because it is widely expected the Red Devils will sign at least one more striker...it also begs the question who will be leaving United this summer.....watch this space on that score.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Stunning Red's double transfer swoop...
Great news for United fans because the Red's have made a stunning double transfer swoop to sign 19 year old Brazilian playmaker Anderson from Porto plus 20 year old Portuguese wonder boy Nani from Sporting Lisbon. United released the news via the clubs official website, the fees have apparently been agreed in principle. Added to which the club will complete the signing of Hargreaves next week. Looking good.
Why neither Beckham or McClaren provide the answers to England's problems....
I get sick and tired of reading the same tired drivel from the same clueless football writers who constantly blather on about England's failure to win matches and tournaments. These so called 'gentlemen of the press' appear to thrive on building managers and players up and then knocking them down again when things don't go quite according to plan. They finally got what they wanted when Sven got the sack following a pathetic tabloid fake Sheik sting. Now it is the turn of Steve McClaren, he would not have been my personal choice but plenty of the press were happy with the appointment.
McClaren's first act as manager was nothing short of disastrous when he announced he was retiring Beckham from England duty - here again many of the press were quite happy about that decision. Take the example of Martin Samuel who is supposed to be a top writer, but today he has blasted McClaren for recalling Beckham and he's stated that if McClaren doesn't win his next competitive game then he has no future as England manager.
Added to which Samuel is under the illusion that other high profile managers would do better than McClaren given the same squad of players. I for one strongly disagree. No manager on this planet could turn the current England squad into world or European champions. Here's why.
The press write thousands of words about Lennon, Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard telling us all who should or should not be playing, first it was Beckham, but more recently it has been Lampard and Gerrard on occasion.
However, when you look at the England squad as a whole and dissect each department only one has a glaring weakness, a weakness that is so blindly obvious that it is impossible to ignore. That department is the forward line. England do not have a genuine world class number nine. I'm talking about someone like Didier Drogba or an Alan Shearer of old, because if they did England could be world beaters.
So forget about which formation McClaren should use, forget about Beckham too. The real problem that needs solving is finding a genuine world class striker and until that happens England will continue to struggle - and no matter who is the manager the press will also continue to try to pick the team because they know best... The vast majority know sweet **** all.
McClaren's first act as manager was nothing short of disastrous when he announced he was retiring Beckham from England duty - here again many of the press were quite happy about that decision. Take the example of Martin Samuel who is supposed to be a top writer, but today he has blasted McClaren for recalling Beckham and he's stated that if McClaren doesn't win his next competitive game then he has no future as England manager.
Added to which Samuel is under the illusion that other high profile managers would do better than McClaren given the same squad of players. I for one strongly disagree. No manager on this planet could turn the current England squad into world or European champions. Here's why.
The press write thousands of words about Lennon, Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard telling us all who should or should not be playing, first it was Beckham, but more recently it has been Lampard and Gerrard on occasion.
However, when you look at the England squad as a whole and dissect each department only one has a glaring weakness, a weakness that is so blindly obvious that it is impossible to ignore. That department is the forward line. England do not have a genuine world class number nine. I'm talking about someone like Didier Drogba or an Alan Shearer of old, because if they did England could be world beaters.
So forget about which formation McClaren should use, forget about Beckham too. The real problem that needs solving is finding a genuine world class striker and until that happens England will continue to struggle - and no matter who is the manager the press will also continue to try to pick the team because they know best... The vast majority know sweet **** all.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Graham Poll announces retirement...
So today's big news in the world of football is that referee Graham Poll has announced that he's hanging up his whistle and packing it in. There will be the usual back slapping from other referees, telling us the fans what a great ref Poll was.
As ever the fans will have slightly different views on Poll, supporters of Australia will never forget his 2006 World Cup faux pas when he dished out three yellow cards to Croatian defender Josip Šimunić, for which Poll himself was dismissed from the tournament. Sepp Blatter later stating that if Australia had lost to Croatia then they would have had grounds to demand a replay. Poll had already sent off two players in that Australia v Croatia game, not only that the officials did not spot that Harry Kewell's goal in the same game was offside.
On the domestic scene the high profile referee was involved in another incident, this time in the FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Old Trafford in 02-03. Arsenal eventually went on to win the game 1-0, but in the build up to the goal by Freddie Ljungberg, Poll collided with Blades midfielder Michael Tonge while he was in possession of the ball. The collission prevented Tonge from tracking back to cover the goal scorer...
Some people say Poll favoured the Arsenal and StatsonSport have the stats to back up that claim..
Stats apparently show that Poll favoured the Arsenal...
In my view Poll did little to raise the standards of refereeing in England, which remains as poor as it has been since Jack Taylor retired - our one and only truly great referee.
As ever the fans will have slightly different views on Poll, supporters of Australia will never forget his 2006 World Cup faux pas when he dished out three yellow cards to Croatian defender Josip Šimunić, for which Poll himself was dismissed from the tournament. Sepp Blatter later stating that if Australia had lost to Croatia then they would have had grounds to demand a replay. Poll had already sent off two players in that Australia v Croatia game, not only that the officials did not spot that Harry Kewell's goal in the same game was offside.
On the domestic scene the high profile referee was involved in another incident, this time in the FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Old Trafford in 02-03. Arsenal eventually went on to win the game 1-0, but in the build up to the goal by Freddie Ljungberg, Poll collided with Blades midfielder Michael Tonge while he was in possession of the ball. The collission prevented Tonge from tracking back to cover the goal scorer...
Some people say Poll favoured the Arsenal and StatsonSport have the stats to back up that claim..
Stats apparently show that Poll favoured the Arsenal...
In my view Poll did little to raise the standards of refereeing in England, which remains as poor as it has been since Jack Taylor retired - our one and only truly great referee.
United summer transfer update...
...so then yesterday it was being reported by the Manchester Evening News that today the Red's would complete the long awaited signing of Owen Hargreaves, 24 hours later and the deal isn't going through and reports now suggest that the deal will be completed next week, when the player returns from his holiday in Canada.
I have to say this news of the delay concerns me slightly as I, and am certain many other United fans, would have liked to have seen this particular transfer saga wrapped up, but now we shall have to wait and see if and when the deal does go through... There is always that slight fear that another club could come in and clinch a deal at the death, as was the case with Mikel, Essien and Robben, who of course were all snatched from United by Chelsea.
You wonder why exactly the Hargreaves deal has stalled for a week.. could it be something to do with the fee, or even personal terms? Whatever it is the fans will want this deal concluded ASAP.
Another player in the news is Gabriel Heinze, who we are told is so desperate to leave that he could invoke new FIFA transfer rules and buy-out his owen contract which would leave him free to choose his next club, the popular Argentine is being linked to clubs in Italy and Spain.
Regarding the search for new strikers, the Red Devils have once again been tentatively linked to Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax, this lad is hot property and there's no way United will have it their own way if indeed Ajax agree to sell the player.
So the search for new strikers goes on and to that end United have been dealt a blow concerning their ambitions to sign Bulgarian hit-man Dimitar Berbatov because it is being reported that he will pen a new deal shortly, thus dashing hopes of him playing for United next season..
I for one believe that the Red's will sign two new strikers plus Owen Hargreaves. However, if things do not go well regarding striker targets, there must be a chance that Saha will be retained and then if that happens United may sign just one new striker and the England midfield star.
I will of course be keeping you up to date with all the latest news and transfer gossip over the next few weeks while the summer window is open for business.
I have to say this news of the delay concerns me slightly as I, and am certain many other United fans, would have liked to have seen this particular transfer saga wrapped up, but now we shall have to wait and see if and when the deal does go through... There is always that slight fear that another club could come in and clinch a deal at the death, as was the case with Mikel, Essien and Robben, who of course were all snatched from United by Chelsea.
You wonder why exactly the Hargreaves deal has stalled for a week.. could it be something to do with the fee, or even personal terms? Whatever it is the fans will want this deal concluded ASAP.
Another player in the news is Gabriel Heinze, who we are told is so desperate to leave that he could invoke new FIFA transfer rules and buy-out his owen contract which would leave him free to choose his next club, the popular Argentine is being linked to clubs in Italy and Spain.
Regarding the search for new strikers, the Red Devils have once again been tentatively linked to Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax, this lad is hot property and there's no way United will have it their own way if indeed Ajax agree to sell the player.
So the search for new strikers goes on and to that end United have been dealt a blow concerning their ambitions to sign Bulgarian hit-man Dimitar Berbatov because it is being reported that he will pen a new deal shortly, thus dashing hopes of him playing for United next season..
I for one believe that the Red's will sign two new strikers plus Owen Hargreaves. However, if things do not go well regarding striker targets, there must be a chance that Saha will be retained and then if that happens United may sign just one new striker and the England midfield star.
I will of course be keeping you up to date with all the latest news and transfer gossip over the next few weeks while the summer window is open for business.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Have United screwed up again on talent spotting?
What do the following have in common: Dimitar Berbatov, Arron Lennon, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe? Yes, that's right they all were signed by Spurs, and the three Englishmen were signed relatively inexpensively, which belies the often used argument that top quality young players from this country cannot be bought cheaply...
Carrick as we know was eventually signed by United for a ridiculous £18.6m - once the signing was complete sources close to Spurs let the media know that they'd have accepted a lot less for a player that they'd signed for only £2.75m. So United had their collective trousers pulled down again over the fee by paying a hefty price for not spotting / acting on Carrick's potential earlier...
Move forward to the events of the last seven days and Spurs have signed yet another young British player in Gareth Bale, the transfer fee could eventually go up to £10m. Ok this time the fee isn't cheap, but have Spurs once again put up the cash to sign a player who may well prove to be good value. In signing Bale Tottenham have backed their manager who in turn has had the nerve to back his own judgement on a very good young Welsh player.
I'd actually argue that Spurs did the same with Michael Dawson - who by the way is another player like Bale who was linked strongly to United before eventually signing for the North London club.
With question marks hanging over the future of Heinze, who is tipped to leave this summer, it raises further question marks about United's ability to act decisively in the transfer market when such obvious young talents like Bale become available, because if indeed Heinze does go this summer then it leaves the Red's with only Patrice Evra and maybe Silvestre for the left back slot, but Silvestre is tipped to leave too.
Has Fergie cocked it up again by not signing Bale? Time will tell, but there has been suggestions coming out of Old Trafford that Fergie believes Bale will be a winger - this has all the hallmarks of an excuse actually.
Smoke and mirrors aside, Ferguson also needs to sign two strikers, as Saha is expected to be turfed out and of course there's the long-winded transfer of Hargreaves to complete - which has gone strangely quiet.... perhaps there's issues over cash being avialable to the manager, and perhaps that is the real reason United didn't try to sign Bale?
Will the Glazers back Ferguson in the summer transfer window or not?
Carrick as we know was eventually signed by United for a ridiculous £18.6m - once the signing was complete sources close to Spurs let the media know that they'd have accepted a lot less for a player that they'd signed for only £2.75m. So United had their collective trousers pulled down again over the fee by paying a hefty price for not spotting / acting on Carrick's potential earlier...
Move forward to the events of the last seven days and Spurs have signed yet another young British player in Gareth Bale, the transfer fee could eventually go up to £10m. Ok this time the fee isn't cheap, but have Spurs once again put up the cash to sign a player who may well prove to be good value. In signing Bale Tottenham have backed their manager who in turn has had the nerve to back his own judgement on a very good young Welsh player.
I'd actually argue that Spurs did the same with Michael Dawson - who by the way is another player like Bale who was linked strongly to United before eventually signing for the North London club.
With question marks hanging over the future of Heinze, who is tipped to leave this summer, it raises further question marks about United's ability to act decisively in the transfer market when such obvious young talents like Bale become available, because if indeed Heinze does go this summer then it leaves the Red's with only Patrice Evra and maybe Silvestre for the left back slot, but Silvestre is tipped to leave too.
Has Fergie cocked it up again by not signing Bale? Time will tell, but there has been suggestions coming out of Old Trafford that Fergie believes Bale will be a winger - this has all the hallmarks of an excuse actually.
Smoke and mirrors aside, Ferguson also needs to sign two strikers, as Saha is expected to be turfed out and of course there's the long-winded transfer of Hargreaves to complete - which has gone strangely quiet.... perhaps there's issues over cash being avialable to the manager, and perhaps that is the real reason United didn't try to sign Bale?
Will the Glazers back Ferguson in the summer transfer window or not?
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Beckham set to return to England fold and rightly so..
David Beckham's name looks set to be included in Steve McClaren's next England squad, this after being discarded and treated shabbily by the then new England coach. The decision to axe Beckham was nothing short of a disgrace as the former United star had done as much, if not more, for his country than any other player over recent times.
What's more Beckham wasn't axed for purely football reasons, rumour has it that the decision was based more on off the field goings on, ie the circus which surrounds the player - this too was insulting to the professionalism of the player who has given his all on the pitch for United, Madrid and England.
England fans will no doubt welcome back Beckham and rightly so.
What's more Beckham wasn't axed for purely football reasons, rumour has it that the decision was based more on off the field goings on, ie the circus which surrounds the player - this too was insulting to the professionalism of the player who has given his all on the pitch for United, Madrid and England.
England fans will no doubt welcome back Beckham and rightly so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
